There are artists who leave behind works – and there are artists who shape a century. Joseph Beuys undoubtedly belongs to the latter.
He liberated art from the narrow confines of museums and brought it back into life. His statement “Art = Capital” was not merely a provocation, but a radical redefinition: capital is not money, but the creative power of human beings. Equally, his words “Every human being is an artist” remain to this day an invitation to understand one’s own life as a creative act.
Beuys’ work demonstrates that art is not decoration, but transformation. It changes society, nature, and consciousness. With his action “7,000 Oaks” in Kassel, he not only planted trees but also created a sign for generations to come – art as living capital, growing and breathing.
In 1999, I painted a portrait of Joseph Beuys myself. For me, it was not merely a likeness, but an approach to this artist of the century, whose thinking and actions remain a benchmark to this day. A digital painting of this portrait follows today.
Mike Kuhlmann